Daya Singh

Bhai
Daya Singh
Ji
Bhai Daya Singh Ji
ਦਇਆ ਸਿੰਘ
	Daya Singh, one of the inaugural/original Panj Pyare, depicted in an old Sikh fresco from inside an abandoned Sikh samadhi located in Kot Fateh Khan, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan
Panj Pyare
	In office; 1699–1708
Personal
Born	Daya Ram Sobhi; 1661; Lahore, Punjab (modern-day Pakistan)
Died	1708 (aged 47); Nanded, India
Cause of death	Martyrdom
Religion	Sikhism
Parents	Suddha (father); Mai Dayali (mother);
Known for	Member of the original, inaugural Panj Pyare; was the first to answer the call by the Guru for a head
Occupation	Shopkeeper
Institute	Khalsa

Daya Singh (Punjabi: ਦਇਆ ਸਿੰਘ (Gurmukhi); born Daya Ram; 1661–1708) was one of the Panj Pyare, the first five Sikhs to be initiated into the Khalsa order in 17th-century India.[1]

Dasam Granth manuscript from Aurangabad attributed to Bhai Daya Singh

Biography

Daya Singh reunited with and accompanied the Guru in the Malwa region in the aftermath of the Second Battle of Chamkaur.[2] He, alongside Bhai Dharam Singh, were the two Sikhs entrusted with delivering the Guru's Zafarnama letter to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.[3][4] They were dispatched from either Kangar village, Bathinda or Dina village, Moga, for this purpose.[3][4] Daya Singh prepared a copy of the original Zafarnama letter, which is still extant.[5]

He was part of a Panj Piare quintet commanded, by Guru Gobind Singh, to accompany Banda Singh Bahadur and provide him counsel on his northwards conquest of Sirhind.[6]

References

Sangat Singh (2001). The Sikhs in history: a millenium study, with new afterwords. Uncommon Books. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-900650-2-3.
Singh, Patwant (2007). The Sikhs. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307429339. Both Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, along with Mohkam Singh and Himmat Singh, two of the original five panjpiyare, were killed in hand-to-hand combat. The Sikhs, by then reduced to the Guru and three others, Daya Singh, Dharam Singh and Man Singh, managed to evade the enemy and head for territory favourable to the regrouping of a resurgent Khalsa.
But this tragic phase was still to reach its nadir. With the break of dawn-after leaving Chamkaur at the dead of night-the Guru found himself separated from his companions and alone in the heart of the Machhiwara forest. He was without food, shelter or his trusted mount, his mind filled with thoughts of Mughal betrayal and the loss of his men and sons; only his iron will sustained him in that bleak hour. As luck would have it his three companions, following the route they had agreed upon, were eventually reunited with him. The four, with the help of loyal Sikhs and at least three friendly Muslims, made their way through the enemy patrols who were searching for them.
They finally reached the village of Jatpura where the Guru was warmly received by the Muslim chief of the area, Rai Kalha.
Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. I: A-D. Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 484–485.
Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780199931439.
Sharma, Sarika (23 April 2023). "20 Years of Panjab Digital Library: 6.5 Crore Manuscripts & Counting". The Tribune.
Sagoo, Harbans Kaur (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 119. ISBN 9788176293006.

Bibliography

Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sn Gur Pratap Sura/` Granth. Amritsar, 1926–37
Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. Patiala, 1968
Chhibbar, Kesar Singh, Bansava/inama Dasari Patshahian Ka. Chandigarh, 1972
Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion. Oxford, 1909
Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, vol. I. Princeton, 1963
Harbans Singh, Guru Gobind Singh. Chandigarh, 1966

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[1] Sangat Singh (2001). The Sikhs in history: a millenium study, with new afterwords. Uncommon Books. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-900650-2-3.

[2] Singh, Patwant (2007). The Sikhs. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307429339. Both Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, along with Mohkam Singh and Himmat Singh, two of the original five panjpiyare, were killed in hand-to-hand combat. The Sikhs, by then reduced to the Guru and three others, Daya Singh, Dharam Singh and Man Singh, managed to evade the enemy and head for territory favourable to the regrouping of a resurgent Khalsa.
But this tragic phase was still to reach its nadir. With the break of dawn-after leaving Chamkaur at the dead of night-the Guru found himself separated from his companions and alone in the heart of the Machhiwara forest. He was without food, shelter or his trusted mount, his mind filled with thoughts of Mughal betrayal and the loss of his men and sons; only his iron will sustained him in that bleak hour. As luck would have it his three companions, following the route they had agreed upon, were eventually reunited with him. The four, with the help of loyal Sikhs and at least three friendly Muslims, made their way through the enemy patrols who were searching for them.
They finally reached the village of Jatpura where the Guru was warmly received by the Muslim chief of the area, Rai Kalha.

[:02-3] Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. I: A-D. Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 484–485.

[:12-4] Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh: A Discursive Blade in the Heart of the Mughal Empire. Oxford University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780199931439.

[5] Sharma, Sarika (23 April 2023). "20 Years of Panjab Digital Library: 6.5 Crore Manuscripts & Counting". The Tribune.

[:6-6] Sagoo, Harbans Kaur (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 119. ISBN 9788176293006.